This community is so friggin awesome ! I just rec'd a call from the Hamilton Community Benifits network hcbn.ca who has agreed to cover our costs for the evening to ensure folks have a place to go ! My team and I are prepping now to head down and open up the HUB❤️

Today I am overflowing with gratitude!!! It's Xmas and this morning I was sharing coffee and chatting with some of the most resilient folks I know. I got to share my Twitter feed and the love you all were showing.

I am a proud Hamiltonian but today well I have never been prouder!!! This community has supported us since march of 2020 but these last 2 days have been absolutely incredible. Many on our team of volunteers were out on the streets looking for folks to invite in.

Thanks to all of you the HUB will once again be opening our doors tonight beyond our nightly 5-9 drop in to extend the overnight warming centre 10pm-10am and spend Xmas with some of our favorite people making this extra special for everyone. Thank you thank you thank you !!!!

I do have to say that although this "winter warm up" plan wasn't perfect (specifically the rules for calling/cancelling a cold alert). This new council DID make a special provision to allow us to even see a warming centre and did it in short order.

YES we NEED to do better and YES we need to revamp this plan and invite those with lived experience to the table but I am much more optimistic than I have been in the past.

So amazing things happen when community comes together. Tonight our warming centre is open and we have a few who wanted to say thank you ! So from our FAMILY to yours Merry Xmas and a huge thank you ❤️

HUB warming centre will open again tonight at 10pm for those who don't have access to a shelter space. This is thanks to the amazing support recieved by so many of you ! ❤️

From our Executive Director 📣🖤✨

ICYMI #HamOnt

A thread from The Hub Hamilton ‘s Executive Director 🧵🪡

I have taken action on warming centres and have been meeting with City staff on next steps to protect the most vulnerable in #HamOnt: Effective immediately, the City has contracted the Hub to operate 10 pm to 10 am, every night, from now until March 3, regardless of weather. 1/3

Thank you to the Council members who reached out, and thank you to staff for putting together these interim measures. You may read more at: hamilton.ca/city-council/n… #HamOnt 3/3

The The Hub Hamilton is overjoyed to announce that the City of Hamilton has agreed to keep our centre open every night until March 31st regardless of cold alerts. This much needed support to our friends with no homes would not have been possible without all of you !

We are forever grateful for your advocacy and true community engagement ❤️ Further to this the city has agreed to cover all the costs since the 24th. We recieved an incredible amount of donations during this period and felt it was important to be transparent

So with that we wanted to offer you all a chance to recall your donations if ypu wish by sending an email to [email protected] with your name and donation amount and we can return the funds and thank you for stepping up when most needed.

If you wish to leave your donation it will be directed to one of our programs that are entirely donor funded and volunteer run. Medical Clinic HIgh Risk Youth Support 5-9pm drop in serving appx 75-120 people nightly. You can find more info about those programs on our website

We thank City of Hamilton Andrea Horwath Cameron Kroetsch and other council members for their recognition of this need and the push to get this done as soon as possible. They have also recognized that there is still much more work to be done as we move into the new year

As we end this year with positive news we want to honour the many friends we have lost this year and ensure we don't stop fighting for the needs of our service users. There is nothing more powerful than the voice of a community that cares !! #HamOnt #endoverdose #harmreduction